How to Use a Minidump File to Fix Your Windows BSOD

[Admin]

Find out how to enable and read the Windows 10 minidump file so you can see exactly why your computer is crashing.

How to Use a Minidump File to Fix Your Windows BSOD : Read more

 

[Colif]

Bluescreenview???? really??

Come on. It almost always blames ntoskrnl and its the victim, not the cause - Its the windows kernel.
DirectX is one of the more obvious results. Same as if error mentions dwm.sys

At least you showed them how to create Minidump files so I won't be too angry

You should have told them to ask on forums, if they still need help, as some of us have a little experience answering those things.

 

[gardenman]

I've read the article and while I agree with most of it, there's a few things that I would note.

BSODs are caused by 3rd party drivers or bad hardware. It's an extremely rare occasion (if ever) when it's actually caused by a Microsoft driver.

BlueScreenView can be useful in the scenario described in the article. But, it usually only provides general information and rarely points directly to a driver. I would also recommend to download the Windows Debugger (WinDbg Preview) from the Window Store. But even then, it's a rare occasion when it shows the actual driver that is causing the issue. And if the issue is hardware, expect even more confusing results. A bad RAM module will often point at multiple different drivers in the dump files when none are really to blame. However, both applications can be used to help aim you in a direction of figuring out what the actual cause is.

The Windows Memory Diagnostic is known to be a weak memory tester. In fact a test may only last 20 or so minutes for 12GB of RAM. It's not completely useless. If it shows an error, that tells you to find other ways to test the RAM. It's much better to use memtest86 from the start, and test 1 RAM module at a time. These tests will last hours (4 passes should be the minimum testing length).

Overall I give the article a thumbs up. Better testing tools should be listed. Also, if the issue is hardware other than RAM, it could have listed a few of the tools used to test other hardware such as Prime95 for CPU testing, or hard drive testing software such as Hard Disk Sentinel, etc. Overall, don't expect the dumps to tell you the exact problem because they rarely do.

 

[drea.drechsler]

About Memory Diagnostic....

When it reboots into Windows it does so without so much as a fair-thee-well. So other than sitting throughout the entire test, how do you determine if there were....or were not...any errors? It can take a VERY long time sitting there watching the screen to see if it reports an error, especially if you run it through multiple cycles for confidence using all the tests.

Are there any suggestions to help find errors...or a successful test report... easier? The only way I know is to search through the Windows Event Log which can be pretty frustrating in it's own right.

And also, I've always considered BSOD diagnosing something of value mainly for developers, especially device driver developers. Us average users, even if having a diagnoses of the BSOD, will probably only be able to fix it by 1)removing any overclocks 2)uninstalling whatever was most recently installed or updated or 3)reset windows. Running 'SFC/scannow' can help...sometimes. But fixes that entail digging into the internals of Windows, including registry edits, are frequently beyond us anyway.

 

[Bulldog17]

Find out how to enable and read the Windows 10 minidump file so you can see exactly why your computer is crashing.

How to Use a Minidump File to Fix Your Windows BSOD : Read more

I disagree with the recommendation to 'Automatically restart.' In many cases, this results in the computer restarting over and over, with no way to stop the restarts.

 

[waltc3]

I haven't had a GSOD (Win10--Win7 is BSOD. IIRC) in so long I cannot remember exactly when. I do recall that the last one I had was caused by an overclocking experiment I was running. That was years ago. If your device drivers are up to snuff then you probably won't see a GSOD these days unless you are overclocking--at least, that has been my experience. (And I run beta builds of Win10, exclusively.)

 

[Colif]

When it reboots into Windows it does so without so much as a fair-thee-well. So other than sitting throughout the entire test, how do you determine if there were....or were not...any errors? It can take a VERY long time sitting there watching the screen to see if it reports an error, especially if you run it through multiple cycles for confidence using all the tests.

its in your favourite place, event viewer
open event viewer
expand the windows logs folder
right click system and click find
type MemoryDiagnostics-Results and click find button
On Event Viewer, double-click the MemoryDiagnostics-Results source, and see the message. If the result reads "The Windows Memory Diagnostic tested the computer's memory and detected no errors," then you can discard memory as the root of the problem.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-check-your-pc-memory-problems-windows-10

Personally I would just run memtest86

And also, I've always considered BSOD diagnosing something of value mainly for developers, especially device driver developers. Us average users, even if having a diagnoses of the BSOD, will probably only be able to fix it by 1)removing any overclocks 2)uninstalling whatever was most recently installed or updated or 3)reset windows. Running 'SFC/scannow' can help...sometimes. But fixes that entail digging into the internals of Windows, including registry edits, are frequently beyond us anyway.

1 makes sense, 2 if you did actually update something recently... I try to find other means before I hit 3.
SFC only helps if its a windows process that actually caused the BSOD (Critical Process Died is one such Windows only bsod)
I never look in the registry, I find 99% of problems can be fixed without ever looking in regedit. Many can be caused by going in there.

I have spent last 5 years trying to help people with BSOD here, I am pretty good but I know there is more I just don't understand. There are over 300 BSOD codes but I see a small number of those here, but causes aren't as easily counted.

 

[drea.drechsler]

....
open event viewer
expand the windows logs folder
right click system and click find
type MemoryDiagnostics-Results and click find button
.....

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-check-your-pc-memory-problems-windows-10

Personally I would just run memtest86

.....

Thanks! that's a good trick to finding specific entries in the event log I'll have to remember.

I've had more luck with HCI MemTest than MemTest86. It will find edge-case memory instability pretty quickly even though hours of MemTest86 using all the possible tests, 2 or 3 times through, missed.

I can appreciate the urge to 'find the problem' rather than just throw it all out. That can be important for developers and people with highly off-standard configurations who have to know what their own efforts have messed up since it will quite likely be repeated an any fresh install. But for an average user, running the device drivers of bog-standard hardware, all that really matters is the bottom line: restore reliable functionality in least amount of time.

I also use 'System Restore' to roll back to earlier Restore Points. Except I think Microsoft is deprecating it as it's become harder to find (just typing in System Restore takes you to the Recovery applet) and you have to set it up. And be sure it's run to create a restore point when installing things, especially when installing device drivers. But the times I've used it it's worked a trick.

 

[Colif]

I think a fair percentage of the people who come here asking for help on BSOD, they appreciate we don't just tell them to reset or full install, not without checking what cause might be. Full install is the hammer approach, its useful if the BSOD still occur after as you know its hardware, but for many driver errors, its a step too far.

Most people don't have backups or multiple hdd in PC, some of you may but I am not exactly talking about us. So the idea of a reset or clean install, starting afresh is not normally on their menu. They prefer to try anything else.**

There is a way to force windows to show what driver is causing it problems but it is almost as dangerous as the bsod its supposedly fixing. Driver Verifer, part of Windows but can cause boot loops. I only suggest it if the process of identifying actual cause takes too long.

I prefer to know what cause is rather than reset and hope it doesn't repeat.

I used to use system restore, we talking Vista days... it wasn't much good for what i used it for but that could have been me more than it. It was my final choice if other ways to fix things had failed, I would often just end up clean installing. Eventually skipped it altogether and went to clean install. It might have been ME I first used it, and well, ME was special and could have tainted my ideas.

System restore useful for rolling back recently installed drivers or Windows updates (although it won't work for version updates as they overwrite the folder)

** if pc won't boot then there are times a reinstall is only choice but there are ways to save any data off drive before reinstall.

 

[drea.drechsler]

....
System restore useful for rolling back recently installed drivers or Windows updates (although it won't work for version updates as they overwrite the folder)
....

That's the situation I find it useful...and probably the only one. Going back more than two restore points, or three at the outside, does not often result in a happy repair. It's usually a botched display driver update too, when even a DDU doesn't make it right.

 

[Colif]

it saves a copy of the registry + all drivers installed so yeah, go too far back and you can break all sorts of things. Normally anti virus is one of them.